Ahbor
by M. Castor
Summary: Something alarming happens to our heroine Risa when she tries to save the trapped-in-dream-world Mizuki. She learns of a terrible secret she shouldn't have ever learned. Read after SWORD and DREAMING OF THE PAST.
1. Chapter 1

**Badoosh. Happy Thanksgiving!**

Is it that possible that my patience could be tried in less than forty-eight hours? Clancy was annoying too, but he would only build up my tolerance meter inch by inch. However, this trifling, ignorant _thing_ slides up the meter with ease.

Ever since that incident involving the "made up fungus and sword" and the flashing Master Emerald, he has been-what is that phrase Clancy uses?

"Giving me shit," I accidently say aloud. To make matters worse, Knuckles is less than four feet away from me.

"Whatchu' say?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me," he insists.

"Giving me shit," I repeat painstakingly. "It is a phrase meaning…"

"Yeah, I know what it means," he retorts with his beet red face.

Storm clouds are born into the sky. How could something that conspicuous simply not exist anymore? I have to find it, it might be one of the few ways to get Knuckles to trust me.

"Why are you following me?" I keep my normal pace as Knuckles skulks behind me. He pouts and I can feel his fists rising in frustration.

"I have every right to," replies Knuckles defensively. "Besides, what're you doing? Looking for something?"

"Yes. Please do not insist your help on this," I assure. I prefer not to have a pair of eyes looking at me during my search. "This is something I can handle."

"Whatever."

After two hours, I finally sit by the edge of the isolated island, unhappy with my results. There is rain and lightning playing with each other in the grey skies. Why did the sword disappear off this island forever? I am starting to question, was it just a dream?

"No, it could not have been," I reassure my doubts. "It was real and I know it. Maybe I will have better luck after fulfilling a mission or two in the city." I turn towards Knuckles and say, "Knuckles, I am going to the city for a while and I will be back."

'

"Thank you for being so consistent Risa," says Erick upon my entrance. "Just out of curiosity, what makes you keep this going?"

"I like fighting."

"Hm, alright. Well before I give you an assignment, can you check one of my other employees? She was supposed to be here yesterday, but she didn't come in. And I expected her to excuse herself this morning, but she isn't here either. Can you please attend to her?"

"It does not matter to me," I reply indifferently. "Do you know where she is staying?"

He hands me a white piece of paper with her information filled out, the same paper I had to fill out when I first came here.

I run over to the Star Deluxe Hotel , eager to get my mission done and maybe find that sword. Without any hint of it being chilly, I shiver. There is something wrong here-very wrong. I skulk over to the outdoor staircase, wait for someone to exit, and then I creep in. She is on the fourth floor-I should be hasty about this.

Once I enter the hallway, the worrisome feelings accumulate. As I meander down the hallway, I use my negative innuendo to lead me to the door where the most negativity radiates. When I reach the door, I turn the knob in vain. How am I going to get this door open? A sudden weight nearly brings my hand down, preceded by a flash of light.

"That sword from before," I gasp aloud. "I knew it existed." I raise the sword so that I can get a good look at it and make sure it was same one from before. Yes, the periwinkle color and odd shape, this is it definitely. "Now, I can open this door."

With brute force, I stick the blade in the slit of the door and slide it down until I hear a click. I pry the door open, and observe the room before I see someone sleeping. As I peek over the bed, I recognize her instantly. Ever so soundly, she is fast asleep.

"Excuse me," I whisper while I take her shoulder and shake her gently. "Excuse me, miss. Wake up."

She snores noisily, signaling no sign of awareness. I shake her again with more force, but she disregards me again. I will try one more tactic that almost never fails.

"Hey!" I shout in her ear. Strange, that usually works. Why is she not waking up? Abruptly, some invisible force knocks me over and brings me to the ground. An unfamiliar voice snarls in my head.

"Do not interfere."

My head pounds furiously, but that does not scare me. I squeeze my sword, get back on my feet, and try to wake the sleeping girl again. The same force knocks me back again and this time my sight is swallowed by blackness.

"Do not interfere," it warns again with a colder tone. With waking up a girl?

"Precisely."

The command has been issued and I cannot go back on it.

"That is a dilemma."

The figure of a well-groomed man appears in the darkness with his back turned to me. His fist trembles with obvious frustration.

"I reiterate mortal, don't int-" as he faces me, his eyes stare at my sword and he stops his sentence. He quickly regains his composure and his chest puffs out. "_That _called you here. I see."

With a wave of his hand, a see-through violet screen encircles us. He instantly vanishes into a purplish mist just as I walk over to see what is beyond the screen. Past the screen are two people, one of them covered in all black and the other seemingly normal.

"That girl who I tried to wake up," I mumble to myself. She seems to be fighting with the other person in all black. There is something bizarre about the one in black however. My sword-wielding hand instantly buffets the screen, but I merely bounce back. The more I follow the black creature's patterns, the stronger the force within me wants to eliminate it.

Once again, I bang against the looking screen repeatedly. Even with the sword, it is useless. My arm throbs painfully, dropping me to one knee. I can never let myself rest.


	2. Chapter 2

_ "Why don't you take a break?" Clancy asked me in the middle of training. "You've been at it all day and that tree isn't gonna fall anytime soon."_

_ Father told me earlier if I wasn't strong enough to slice down a tree, then I would always be a failure in his eyes. I was eight. Despite what Clancy said, I disregarded him and kept brandishing the iron sword into the tree's bark. In five, nonstop hours, I had cut off ten branches and barely cut into the tree's core._

"_Why are you doing this?"_

_Chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck-I wasn't stopping anytime soon. Clancy stopped talking and decided to silently watch me. Once I got annoyed at his presence, I finally stopped and requested, "Do not disturb me."_

"_Are you trying to cut down the tree?"_

_I nodded, still not facing him._

"_You're not gonna do it," he smugly taunted. "You're crazy, there's no way."_

_You're not gonna do it. You're crazy, there's no way._

I rise to my feet. I charge at the violet screen with renewed energy and with a wave of the sword, the screen breaks into a million pieces. Keeping midair balance, I fall to the blackened floor and lunge at the black creature that is now on top of the girl.

"Keep your head down," I say as I swing the blade at the creature effectively. It rolls off like a limp body and camouflages itself within the ground. Something tells me that creature is not gone for good. "You need to get up."

I am right; just as the girl gets to her feet, the creature, which looks like the mirror opposite of this girl, charges at us. I shove the girl to the side and engage in fierce battle with the black creature.

Those eyes are unmistakably the eyes of Heartless. Again, without my control, I slash the Heartless with the periwinkle sword at it. Behind me, the girl I saved says, "You can't hog Heartless Me to yourself!"

I prefer to handle this on my own, but help would not kill me. In a flurry of intricate, but powerful moves, the Heartless is nearly defeated-I can tell by its berserk mannerisms. As a kamikaze attack, it lunges at me with whipped, spaghetti arms with four other clones. In a flurry of backflips, I avoid each attack and when I find the perfect openings, I make my swipes at them. When I slash into their black pigmented bodies, they evaporate in to black mist.

White light encircles the girl I saved and then it quickly vanishes along with the girl. Why am I still here?

"Look down Risa," the man whom I spoke to before commands sharply. I gasp-an event that has never been seen before. The setting is my village-home and…this is us while we were fighting in that tournament.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I demand while looking up and away from the fighting below.

"Watch."

"_I won't let it happen!" _

The blood pours from my past self's cheek without end. I close my eyes, hearing the rest of the scenes unfold. The heart-jerking moment where my entire home is destroyed is coming up.

"_You could have taken her Clancy," _a boy rudely scolds, forcing me to open my eyes. This is something I do not remember-Clancy was never talking to any boy.

"_Take your stupid thing back!" Clancy angrily stomps over to him and throws his sword in front of the boy's shoes. "I don't want it anymore."_

"_What're you talking about? You can't give it back once you've taken it Clancy."_

"_I almost killed Risa with this! I don't want anything that could harm her."_

The boy, who I am sure I have never seen in the village before, folds his arms and gazes at Clancy disappointedly_. "Only if it's not in your control. You were in control when you unleashed that power upon her so I don't know what you're problem is."_

"_Ever since I met you, I don't feel like myself at all," Clancy accusingly points at the boy. "I said I don't want-"he_ glares at his hands "-this _power. You can take it and do whatever you want with it-so I don't wanna ever see you again!"_

That is-?

"_Clancy, I would like to speak with you," _Father feebly approaches to two boys. _"I didn't see you in the tournaments. Tell me sir, what village do you come from?"_

"_Don't worry about it,"_ the other boy ominously assures. _"I was just leaving."_ Turning his back to both of them, the mysterious boy vanishes into the bushes, leaving Clancy and Father alone. What was I doing when this happened?

"_What disrespectfulness!" _grunts Father while shaking his head. _"Anyway, my boy, I saw what you were able to do to Risa's face."_

Clancy drops to his knees and bows his head to the ground. _"I'm sorry Chief, I didn't want to hurt Risa and I lost control-"_

"_No need to apologize," _he calmly gestures him to rise, "_It was a shame you couldn't do _more_."_

"_What do you mean?" _

"_My intentions for coming to see you are simple. I would like you kill Risa."_

Clancy's eyes widen with horror. "_Wait a minute, are you serious?"_

"_Allow me to explain. Ever since that young girl was little, I was determined to have a powerful warrior to upkeep the reputation of the Village of Willow and of mine. Risa has maintained our reputation, but as she grew to be stronger, she has become more defiant-now, you know the 'curse' Risa has been given and its conditions. Yet, she is beginning to exert _defiance_ and it's been a struggle dealing with her. Her existence is taking its toll on this old man's body and I saw what you were able to accomplish during that fight. I don't have the energy to do the deed myself, she would eliminate me in one blow, but you-"_

"_Just stop!" _ fiercely shouts Clancy as his teeth gnashes and his fist flies. _"She's your own daughter, and what I did to her is not something to be proud of so don't call it an accomplishment. I refuse your order!"_

A vertigo feeling overtakes me. The scene is becoming blurry, but something will not let me black out-my anger.

"_Clancy," _Father paces towards him. _"You know the price of refusing an order from your Chief. Do as I command and I promise you the throne and more when I pass away." _He reaches to put his hands on Clancy's shoulders. _"Don't refuse me!"_

"_No!" _exclaims Clancy as he pushes Father's misleading hands away and snatches the sword he threw away off the ground. "_Don't you touch me and don't you put a hand on-"_

A strange paroxysm takes Father's chest. He groans and clutches his chest as he falls back on a stone; a satisfying thud follows after. Clancy's sword disappears in his hand as Father's thick blood seeps under Clancy's shoes.

"_No, I did this-" Clancy sadly mumbles to himself with his head hanging low. "No, it was an accident."_

"_Clancy," _I instantly recognize my voice._ "wherever you are, I am going back home."_

"_Ah-wait!" _he flees from the lifeless body of my Father. A tiny rose-colored heart escapes from the center of his chest, is quickly swallowed by an unexpected black-violet streak, turning his entire body into a Heartless.

The scene dissipates in front my eyes. Father wanted me dead-and he wanted my own friend to do the deed. That conniving, heartless man wanted _my friend _to kill _me_.

"Hate Father."

I am glad he is dead, he deserves to be. I damn his soul to the deepest parts of hell, where he belongs.

"Hate the man who wanted to kill you."

I do.

"Hate the man who wanted to hurt your dear friend."

I do.

"Will you bestow Father the smallest corner of light and pity in your heart?"

Absolutely not. My heart will have nothing but hatred and malice for him. I loathe him. I want him to be alive so I could kill him again and again.

"Submerge your heart into animosity. Destroy your frivolous feelings of compassion Risa."

I promise to-

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" the shriek from the girl I saved earlier makes my entire surroundings disappear. But not the feelings-the hate and animosity linger.

"I know you saved me and all, but that doesn't mean you can barge into my room!"

I softly moan, putting my hand on my chest while getting to my feet.

"Well, are going to answer me, Hoodie?"

"I hate Father."

"Can you speak up?"

I raise my hand towards her and the sword I used to slay the Heartless appears in my hand. "Shut up."

'

I take my spot on Angel Island's edge, gazing off the sea that conceals the bodies of murdered humans. The sun is merely a hole in the sky that oozes red and orange blood. Something needs to be gone-_something_ deserves to die.

I stand up and run into the forest.

* * *

><p>There's something off about that kid today. I said "hey," and she ignored me. What's her deal?<p>

She suddenly hops to her feet and heads towards the forest. Something tells me I should follow her. I leap off the altar steps and skulk behind her into the shade of the trees. Loud squeals shoot into my eardrums.

"What is that?" I ask aloud as I charge towards Risa's location. "Hey, what're you-?"

Why the hell is there blood on the ground- and a lot of it! Risa drops the bodies of two small animals in the puddles of blood.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I ask in total shock. "What're you doin'?"

Her bloody fists begin trembling, but she says nothing.

"What the hell is wrong with you-are you some kind of _freak_ that enjoys that kind of stuff?"

Still no answer.

"Huh, you're just gonna stare at me?"

I knew there was something about this girl I didn't like-I just knew it.

"Hatred…anger," Risa mutters while raising her hand in front of me.

"Put your hand down, you look like, heh, you wanna go with me," I raise my hands and smirk. She doesn't realize she's about to enter a world of hurt. "Come on ya sick freak!"

"You sound…just like Father. I hate Father. I shall not give him any corner of light in my heart. I damn his soul to the deepest parts of hell-"

In a smoke of blackness and lightening, something red and long appears in her hand. Could that be- a sword? Was that the sword she kept blabbing on about the other day? It looks so sinister in its appearance- but I can't let her beat me.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hate the man who wanted to hurt your dear friend."<em>

I can feel the animosity and hatred stretching over my heart, tainting it. I must hate-it is my _power, my weapon, my purpose._

Without thinking, my sword-wielding hand slams down on Knuckles. He catches it with his bare hands, grunting loudly.

"What're you doing? Knock it off-eeugh, or else I'll hurt you!" he warns. I hate him too. He did not believe me when I told him about the sword, the Heartless. He wanted me to leave the island-he wanted me to be obedient. Like Father. Father hurt Clancy-Knuckles hurt Clancy.

I hurt Clancy. I did not save him. I hate myself-I am hatred in its quintessence.

"I will have your blood on this sword."

The crimson sword that used to be periwinkle bathes itself in blackness as I remove the sword from Knuckles' grasp. No, I should stop this-

"_Submerge your heart with animosity. Destroy your frivolous feelings of compassion."_

I vehemently shake, dropping to my hands and knees and close my eyes. All I have to embrace is hatred. Nothing else.

I wake up with alacrity, leap into the air, and bring the sword down on Knuckles.

…**and the conclusion to Risa's madness continues another day! Toodles~**


End file.
